Idea: Radical Sabbatical
Bill Gates takes an annual sabbatical so he can think about the future, catch up on important reading, and return to work energized for another year. And you’ve probably thought, “It sure would be nice to be one of the world’s richest people who control their own schedules.”
I got that same feeling reading Gina Trapani’s post on Harvard Business Publishing about designer Stefan Sagmeister, who every seven years shuts down his studio for a year of “creative rejuvenation” or after talking with a consultant friend who gives every seventh year of her practice to professional rejuvenation AND gives tenth of her time and money away. Talk about a Sabbath principles in action!
Sabbaticals have long been an important tool in the work lives of prominent leaders and thinkers. In their broadest definition, sabbaticals are times intentionally set aside from our normal paces and places for the work of reflecting, researching, and thinking. They are times given to problems or thoughts that have no place in our day-today (hour-to-hour) world. It’s unrestricted time to, as the famous sign at IBM says, THINK.
But the thought of taking extra days/weeks/months for rest and reflection is just a fantasy for most of us. Vacations help a little, but it can be tough to be meditative while riding the spinning teacups at Disneyland. So, how do can average business leaders accomplish these same “rest and reflect” goals? How can they escape from the administrivia of daily business life to get a clear perspective on their organization and its future?
If your life or work situation won’t allow you to take extra weeks or months away, consider a few of these options for your own radical sabbatical:
1. Schedule your own private in-office sabbatical. Block off two hours each month and devote the time to thinking about the big picture, thinking creatively for the longer term, or just wrestling with a messy problem.
2. Get out of the office. A change of scenery always helps get the sabbatical juices flowing. If you have the flexibility, schedule time away from the office and in some place that you enjoy.
3. Treat yourself – buying a nice cup of coffee or treating yourself to an unusually nice lunch in a favorite spot can set-up a really productive session. Remember, rejuvenation is part of the sabbatical equation.
4. Don’t be shy – communicate exactly what you’re doing to those who ask. Beating around the bush will distract you and keep you from investing in the sabbatical time – even if it’s only for a few hours.
Make sure you have an agenda for the time – this will keep you on task and able to show the value of the time away to anyone who is curious. (Like your partner or boss.) And once you fall in love with it, here’s a best-case “sabbatical scenario” for a leader or team that wants to remain energetic and strategically focused while still remaining active in the workplace: two weekends a year, one business-day a quarter, one half-day a month.
And don’t worry about how you’ll get all your other work done. When you make big-picture choices, the little stuff has a way of finding its proper place.
